Lawyer Reveals New Evidence In Ianiero Murder Case

There’s still no proof   who killed Domenic and Nancy Ianiero in their Mexico hotel room last February. But we know almost for certain who didn’t – two Thunder Bay women who were at the centre of controversy for a time in the case.

And it appears it may be Canadian authorities who kept them from being cleared.

Edward Greenspan, the lawyer for the Ianiero family, has revealed the results of his investigation into the murder – including having a close look at the Mexican federales’ own internal records. They tell a story of a lack of cooperation, a lack of proper investigation and a lack of competence.

The Ianieros were found with their throats slashed in their hotel room after heading to Mexico for their daughter’s wedding. No one has been arrested for the brutal crime, and the list of suspects – and red herrings – has been long.

Among them: Cheryl Everall and Kimberly Kim, two Thunder Bay vacationers who became unwitting stars in the tragedy simply because they were staying in the room next door to the slain couple and left within hours of their deaths.  

“They have never been valid suspects,” Greenspan avers. “The lead investigator told us that it is his belief that any blood found in the room of the two Thunder Bay women was there as a result of cleaning staff entering the room after having cleaned the crime scene area and cleaned it not very well.”

The lawyer intends to pursue legal action against the hotel for ordering its crews to clean up the blood before law enforcement personnel could get access to the forensic evidence. It will be heard in a Cancun courtroom on September 4 ^th.

“The cleaning staff, as part of their daily routine, went into the women’s room to clean, were interrupted and called across the hall to the Ianieros’ room. They cleaned up there and then went back to the women’s room. It was the cleaning ladies who told the police that when they were first in the Thunder Bay women’s room, they found nothing suspicious and no evidence of blood. It turns out Thunder Bay was a tragic sideshow…

“I find it unbelievable that a hotel could allow people in the room to clean up before police arrived,” he fumes. “It had to be an attempt to cover this whole thing up.”

But Greenspan claims another surprise – it wasn’t the Mexican police who apparently refused to help prove the Ontario women are 100 percent innocent.

“The only reason the Mexican authorities won’t formally say so is because they made a request for information from the Canadian police in March for simple basic information and the Canadian police have not provided that information and have never responded to the request,” he charges. “I’m surprised, I’m disappointed and I would like answers.”

The lawyer for the women claims the new information exonerates them for good.

“As far as we can tell, it’s as close to a complete withdrawal of allegations against my people as we can get,” Lee Baig asserts. “It appears as though (Mexican authorities) knew right at the outset that they were barking up the wrong tree.”

Greenspan continues to maintain a security guard at the hotel is the main suspect. The man in question, 36-year-old Blas Ismael Delgado, disappeared the day after the murder and hasn’t been seen since.

The investigation shows the former police and military officer had the kind of training that would have been needed to commit the crime.

“He is more than just a suspect,” argues former Toronto Police homicide detective Mike Davis. “He’s probably their primary suspect.”

But he’s wondering what’s taking Mexican police so long to bring him in for questioning. “My question is, okay, there’s the name. Where’s the picture that goes along with it?”

Both victims were found with their throats cut in what the family has always believed was a robbery gone wrong.

But Greenspan cast doubt on that, too.

“Though there may be some missing items from their room or their persons, it would appear that robbery is not an established motive for the killings. The file confirms that Mrs. Ianiero’s purse remained untouched on the top shelf of the closet. Mr. Ianiero’s wallet was found in his back pocket and none of the contents seemed to have been removed.

“Mr. Ianiero still had cash on him, and Mrs. Ianiero’s jewellery box remained intact on the dresser. It appears no jewellery was missing. Although the room may have been ransacked, the travellers’ cheques that were in Mr. Ianiero’s suitcase were still there.”

Only a single watch was missing. There’s been no sign of it since.

Among the other revelations made by Greenspan in a wide ranging press conference: